The mechanical properties of metal structures change dramatically when their characteristic length scale is of the order of micrometers of below. Nanosized metallic wires, pillars, particles or thin films show for example an increased yield stress (the so-called “smaller is stronger” effect), and changes in their elastic response compared to their bulk counterparts.

In this project we use atomistic simulations to study the fundamental deformation mechanisms of metallic nanostructures. The results are directly used to interpret the experiments performed at our institute.